The weight-loss medication industry is experiencing a significant transformation as pharmaceutical giants compete to develop pill alternatives to today’s popular injectable treatments, according to a March 6 industry analysis.
This rapidly evolving marketplace has caused Wall Street analysts to reconsider their previous predictions of a $150 billion industry value over the next ten years. The shift comes as oral medications enter the market, generic competitors prepare to launch, and prices for current blockbuster drugs from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk continue to decline in the United States.
Novo Nordisk has gained a competitive advantage by becoming the first pharmaceutical company to introduce a GLP-1 pill specifically for obesity treatment, positioning the Danish manufacturer ahead in this rapidly developing sector.
Multiple major pharmaceutical companies are now working to develop their own oral obesity medications:
ELI LILLY
The company’s experimental drug orforglipron, taken once daily as an oral non-peptide GLP-1 agonist, demonstrated impressive results in clinical testing. Participants without diabetes who were overweight experienced a 12.4% reduction in body weight over 72 weeks when taking the highest dosage in advanced trials.
Additional research showed that orforglipron successfully maintained weight reduction in patients who switched from injectable GLP-1 treatments, including Lilly’s own Zepbound and Novo Nordisk’s competing Wegovy product.
Eli Lilly anticipates launching orforglipron in the United States as soon as the second quarter of this year, awaiting final approval from the Food and Drug Administration.
STRUCTURE THERAPEUTICS
This company is advancing GSBR-1290, another non-peptide oral GLP-1 agonist. Clinical trials involving 230 participants showed weight reduction of up to 11.3% following 36 weeks of treatment during mid-stage testing.
Structure Therapeutics expects to begin advanced clinical development by mid-2026, following a scheduled consultation with the FDA during the first half of next year.
MERCK
Working alongside Hansoh Pharma, Merck is preparing to begin early-stage human trials of HS-10535, an oral small-molecule GLP-1 agonist. The experimental medication is currently undergoing laboratory testing.
ASTRAZENECA
AstraZeneca has partnered with Eccogene to develop ECC5004, a once-daily GLP-1 receptor agonist pill. Initial clinical trials demonstrated encouraging weight-loss results and acceptable safety outcomes, with intermediate-stage trials planned under AstraZeneca’s direction.
ROCHE
After acquiring Carmot Therapeutics, Roche is developing CT-966, an oral GLP-1 agonist. Early-stage trials conducted last year showed that CT-966 produced a placebo-adjusted average weight reduction of 6.1% within just four weeks in obese patients without diabetes.
VIKING THERAPEUTICS
Viking is creating an oral version of VK2735, which targets both GLP-1 and GIP hormones responsible for regulating metabolic processes.
During mid-stage clinical trials, this experimental weight-loss pill enabled patients to achieve 12.2% body weight reduction, though this fell short of Wall Street’s highest expectations of 15%.
PFIZER
Pfizer made a significant entry into the profitable obesity medication market through its $10 billion purchase of obesity drug developer Metsera, following intense competition with Novo Nordisk.
This acquisition provided Pfizer with two oral, long-acting GLP-1 drugs currently undergoing preclinical testing.
Additionally, Pfizer and Chinese collaborator Sciwind Biosciences received approval for their once-weekly weight-loss injection Xianweiying in China, creating additional competition for existing products from Novo, Lilly, and Innovent Biologics.
Pfizer previously worked on danuglipron, initially designed as a twice-daily oral GLP-1 agonist, but discontinued development after mid-stage trial data revealed poor patient tolerance.
INNOVENT BIOLOGICS
The China-based company Innovent Biologics is conducting early-stage trials of its oral GLP-1 weight-loss medication IBI3032 in both the United States and China.
HUADONG PHARMACEUTICAL
Another Chinese pharmaceutical company, HuaDong Pharmaceutical, reported that its oral obesity drug candidate HDM1002 achieved body weight reductions of up to 6.8% in early-stage studies involving overweight or obese participants in China.
ASCLETIS PHARMA
China-based Ascletis Pharma’s experimental oral GLP-1 drug ASC30 demonstrated weight loss of up to 7.7% during mid-stage clinical trials conducted in the United States.
